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Show AN EPISCOPALIAN ENIGMA. We have been working up a headache trying to solve a rchgKus. problem presented to us bv the anomalous position maintained by our friends of he Episcopalian church. In the first place, are wc to believe that the Episcopalian body in this country coun-try form one church with the Episcopalian body m England? If so, 1S the King of England or was the late Queen Victoria, supreme head of the Episcopalian Epis-copalian church in this country? King Edward is the head of the church in England, aceordin- to the thirty-seventh article as found in the Book of Common Prayer, which is the authorized manual of devotion and doctrine used by all Episcopalians. Jhis being evident, does the Episcopalian bodv in this country refer their doctrinal and ritualistic practices to-the King of England for approval? If they do not recognize him as the supreme head, J uaV y be one with the Church of England, which does so recognize him? Again, if the English Eng-lish head is not the American head, are we to believe be-lieve there are two heads to the on body, and as no body is complete without a head, and as no bodv in this country? The Episcopalian bishop of NW-castle, NW-castle, England, recently writing to a clergyman, who submitted a religious difficulty to him. answered: an-swered: "I much regret that after mature, consideration consid-eration you should find yourself not only unable to yield obedience to the sovereign of this realm as supreme therein in matters ecclesiastical a position po-sition assigned to him by our church in her thirty-seventh thirty-seventh article .... I have no power, as a bishop who received his See from the sovereign under oath to regard him as suprme in the matters to which I referred." Would a bishop of the Episcopalian church in this country on the assumption that it is one with the English church write similarly to one of his clergymen? Again, on the assumption that the Episcopalian church must recognize a supreme head, where is the supreme head which is recognized recog-nized here? Who can enlighten us?' Who can un-. ravel the puzzle? Western Watchman. |
